Etta Strickland, 89 years old, was born November 9, 1926 in Morrilton, Arkansas to Will Pledger and Lula Brown Pledger.Lovingly known to her family and community as Ettamama, she was the youngest daughter of nine children born to that union.She was preceded in death by all of her siblings, her husband, Lawrence (Junior) Strickland, and two sons, Don Allen and Rickey Phil. Etta Strickland, who in those early years, always sported a gardenia in her hair, attended the local school in Menifee, Arkansas.There she met and married her high school sweetheart, Lawrence J. Strickland in 1945.To this union, eight children were born. Etta was a faithful member of The Church of Christ until she finally succumbed to sickness and poor health.Before retiring she worked as a cook at the Hendrix College Kitchen and the Holiday Inn in Conway, Arkansas.There she perfected her passion for cooking delectable dishes and marinating lifetime relationships that became mutually sustaining. Ettamama loved to sing (she was anybodys star alto), cook for her family and friends, and entertain in her home.Anyone blessed enough to know her intimately, can attest to her huge heart, ready smile, and her pots and pans which were always full to overflowing with food and love. She is survived by two sons, Foyce Strickland (Karen) of Kansas City, Missouri and Gary Strickland of Menifee, Arkansas, four daughters, Trish Stoudamire of Omaha, Nebraska, Charletta Holloway (Frank) ofMemphis,Tennessee, Linda Hunter (Vincent) of Alexander, Arkansas and Mechelle Thompson of Conway, Arkansas, 16 grandchildren, and 30 great-grandchildren. Funeral service for Mrs. Strickland will be Tuesday, July 5, 2016, 11:00 A.M. at Menifee Church of Christ in Menifee, Arkansas by Bro. Don Keels. The body will lie in state from 10:00 A.M.to 11:00 A.M. the day of the funeral at the church. Interment was in Menifee Community Cemetery in Menifee. Public viewing will be Sunday, July 3, 2016 from 2:00 P.M.to 4:00 P.M. at Wilson & Jarrett Funeral Home Chapel.